Meet Better Bike Share Partnership’s 2025 Mini Grant Awardees!

The funded projects will reach and engage traditionally underresourced populations through shared micromobility.

Reddy Bikeshare and Ride KC Bike

The Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP) has made its annual mini-grant project selections. Grantees will focus on getting more people on bikes by creating more access to shared micromobility in low-income communities and communities of color across the United States. 

Over the next six months, shared micromobility practitioners will use their mini-grants to carry out personal engagement activities with Spanish-speaking community members, youth, adults living with disabilities, and people in public housing.

“We are excited by the variety of projects this year and look forward to telling the many stories of success which will no doubt inspire systems across the country,” says Tangier Barnes Wright, deputy director of shared micromobility. 

The following projects were selected to receive funding:

EXPANDING BIKE SHARE ACCESS TO SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES IN THE KANSAS CITY REGION: $10,000
Bike Walk KC | Kansas City, MO

RideKC Bike share will increase accessibility for Spanish-speaking community members this year. In partnership with local nonprofits and neighborhood leaders, RideKC Bike will create a Spanish language version of the RideKC Bike app and hold educational outreach events to Spanish-speaking community members on how to use the improved app and the bike share system.

BIKESHARE EDUCATION IN ITHACA, NY: $10,000
Center for Community Transportation | Ithaca, NY

Community members in Ithaca will have the opportunity to take part in a series of bike skills classes and test rides using Ithaca Bikeshare through an initiative to increase bike accessibility, safety, and confidence. Ithaca Bikeshare and Bike Walk Tompkins want to help people take advantage of Bikeshare as an affordable, sustainable transportation option. They will teach people to ride and how to use the app, and they will partner with GO ITHACA to help participants sign up for their income-based Easy Access program that subsidizes transportation.

THE POLLINATION PROJECT: $7,000
Shared Mobility Inc. | Buffalo, NY

Reddy Bikeshare is collaborating with Eat Off Art to design four art bikes to increase the use and awareness of shared micromobility. Eat Off Art is a family-owned and operated small business based in Buffalo that blends art, education, and entrepreneurship to inspire and empower the community. Reddy Bikeshare is committed to expanding access to bikeshare in Buffalo’s low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods through initiatives like their East Side Forward Pass. The Pollination Project will further support this mission by making bike share more visible, inviting, and culturally relevant.

HIBIKE LEARN TO RIDE PROGRAM: $6,100
People for Active Transportation Hawaii (PATH) | Kailua-Kona, HI

Using bike rides as a connection point, People for Active Transportation Hawaii (PATH) will engage communities and people living next to transit lines to demonstrate how easy it is to use HIBIKE for recreation and transportation. In Kona, they will work with the Ulu Wini Place low-income housing development to teach safe riding by using the bike share station on the nearby transit line. In Hilo, they will partner with the Department of Parks & Recreation to introduce adults with physical or developmental disabilities to the basics of riding and how to use the bike share system. Free monthly HIBIKE passes will be given to each participant in Kona and Hilo.

BIKE SHARE IN NEW HAVEN: EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND EQUITY: $10,000
New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation | New Haven, CT

E-bike riding classes, free 1-year Ride New Haven bike share memberships, helmets, and more are all part of the New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation’s (NCAT) education programming to increase access to bike share in BIPOC and low-income communities. Courses will be taught in English and Spanish alongside League Certified Cycling Instructors and a cohort of Bike Share Leaders who come from the community. The Bike Share Leaders and NCAT staff will also engage with community members during events to teach them how to register for the Ride New Haven system, how to sign up for a discounted equity membership, and free e-bike share classes.  

BIKESHARE BAT QUEST: $10,000
Bat Conservation International | San Antonio, TX

Bat Conservation International, San Antonio BCycle, and Latino Outdoors are teaming up to launch a 4-part educational ride series. Twenty riders from the San Antonio Chapter of Latino Outdoors will be trained as Bikeshare Bat Quest Ambassadors, leading future bat education rides to promote conservation awareness and active transportation. The mission of Latino Outdoors is to empower San Antonio’s Latino community to enjoy nature as a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space. Graduates of the ride series will receive a free SA BCycle Annual Membership, key fob, helmet, and one-year BCI Membership.

PEDALING IN PASSAIC: BRIDGING THE GAPS IN BIKE SAFETY, TRANSPORTATION ACCESS, & EQUITY: $9,000
Meadowlands Transportation Brokerage Corporation | Wood-Ridge, NJ

EZ Ride will partner with the Passaic Urban Enterprise Zone to increase access to and use of the Passaic bike share program through community rides and engagement events. Instructors from EZ Ride will conduct 10 free, 60-minute classes for 100 youth and/or adults to teach bike safety, rules of the road, and NJ traffic laws. Participants will receive a complimentary bike helmet and reflective safety vest and learn to access the city’s bike share app. Classes will be held at community fairs/events, schools, and near the bike stations. Class participants will take a community ride with EZ Ride staff to practice skills after each class. 

ART IN MOTION: TUGO WRAPS: $10,000
City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility | Tucson, AZ

The City of Tucson is partnering with the Arts Foundation of Tucson and Southern Arizona to wrap TUGO bike share bikes and stations with vibrant local art to boost ridership and create awareness of the bike share system. The wraps will reflect the culture and identity of Tucson’s diverse communities. Art rooted in community identity can spark pride, awareness, and ownership—keys to increasing access and use. Community members will be invited to participate in bike art tours led by Families United Gaining Accessibility (FUGA), a grassroots coalition that advocates for greater transportation access in Tucson, to showcase the wraps once completed.